5 stocks hammered in July worth a second look

Talk about a bad July. But rather than panicking, investors keeping their eyes open might find some deals — or not.

There are five stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500, including fast-food chain Yum Brands (YUM), computer-memory company SanDisk (SNDK) and motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson (HOG), that fell 10% or more in July, but get a “hold” rating or higher from S&P Capital IQ, “neutral” or better ratings from stock-rater New Constructs, and an average “outperform” rating from Wall Street analysts.

Investors are looking through the market’s recent wreckage to pick up stocks that might have been beaten down, giving them an interesting entry point. That’s especially true as the Standard & Poor’s 500 slips another 0.7% Friday after falling 2% Thursday.

Be careful, though, stocks that are falling can keep falling, despite the positive feelings of analysts.

Take the example of Yum Brands. The stock has been punished 14.5% in July as investors worry about the company’s growth and issues in less-developed nations. Even so, New Constructs, which compares stock prices to the present value of their expected cash flows, calls the stock “attractive.” The average analyst rating on the stock is “outperform.” S&P Capital IQ rates the stock a 3, or “hold,” which isn’t a resounding endorsement, but not a warning sign, either.

Other big July losers that get “attractive” ratings from New Constructs and “outperform ratings” from Wall Street analysts include Harley-Davidson and container maker Owens-Illinois (OI).

Here are the five S&P 500 stocks that fell 10% or more in July that meet the standards of three raters to at least be worthy to hold:

What about the absolute worst stocks of July? What were they and what do the experts think? As you’ll see, while these stocks are down quite a bit in July, analysts can’t seem to agree on them being even close to appealing.